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Gamers are used to sensational news coverage about our favorite past time, but once in a while a report lowers the dialogue to a point at which it's hard to tell if we should be shaking our fists in anger, or laughing hysterically. For a great example, check out the recent report out of KDVR from Denver, Colorado (above). Right from the start, the report sounds perfectly fair and objective by referring to the games kids are "dying to play." It goes on to talk about the "growing" problem of child predators using game networks to find their victims.
While the report is critical of the gaming community, portraying it as a dangerous breeding ground for sexual abusers, the bigger problem here is how sensational and poorly-researched the piece is. It profiles a young female gamer who was spoken to inappropriately, but doesn't mention the outcome of her encounter. It names the Xbox Live user who made the comment, but doesn't check on his Live profile or cover any comment from Microsoft. It refers to an FBI report calling it the "fastest growing crime," but doesn't bother showing any statistics. Most egregiously, the report talks up the dangers of Xbox Live, but doesn't do what news is meant to do: inform parents about the multiple privacy and blocking features available on every current console.

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